WordPress Howto Spotter Gets Facelift, Do You Like It?
I’m a strong believer in first impression. It is what determines HOW you are perceived on subconscious level even before you are interacted with. In case of blogs it is just as important, as first impression has a great chance of turning interested visitor into “fast clicking Back button” browser.
Sadly, even if the information you provide is relevant to the search!
I have seen it before and done it myself. Just think back – have you ever arrived to a site because it supposedly had info you need but was so destructed by the color combination, ads overload or awkward navigation that you simply clicked back to look for OTHER site?
I know I have and on more then one occasion AND Will Do It Again!
First impression matters!
My blogs’ original design was based on modified theme by Typoxp 2.0 by Sunaryo Hadi and even though it was well tested and proven to work – it was becoming dated rather quickly, plus I like to change things up, just like any other blogger 
Here is the old look:
I loved my old theme and each element in it was tested and proven to work but I was also looking for a more modern look that will help me push my personal branding forth.
I have to say that I looked at multitudes of Premium Themes, looked at offers by custom theme coders and finally ended up choosing a free theme – Curious by E. Harrison but I bet you will not recognize it because I spent nearly 2 weeks (on and off) completely reworking it!
However much I liked the idea presented by theme – it ended up only being a base for what I needed:
- I hired a graphic designer to create all graphic elements and color coordinate them
- I completely replaced comments system and search functionality that came with the original theme to make it nicer and compatible with WordPress 2.7+
- I have created custom element above the Main content but below header
- I added tabbed elements in 2 locations
- Implemented some custom coding for social proof (subscribers and Twitter followers)
- Nearly completely reworked the coding for the theme to ensure it is now optimized for Search Engines
- Reworked a lot of CSS coding and also added elements for new my customizations
- And a few more tweaks, as needed – too many to remember all
As result I got myself a brand new theme loosely based on Curious idea but more then 75% reworked for my needs. Here is a screenshot, in case you are reading in RSS reader:
And if you are reading through RSS – please do visit and comment on my new design!
Do you like it? Do you hate it?
I want to know as my new design was made with a goal to put content forward, make it simpler for you to access it!
Related articles by Zemanta
- How To: Edit Your Blogs Theme (slyvisions.com)
More Options Print This Page! Subscribe With RSS Reader Subscribe by EmailFiled under Blogging |
Related posts: |
About The Blog Author
Alex Sysoef is an IT Consultant, Internet Marketer and ProBlogger who shares his passion and knowledge of WordPress, SEO, Social Media and traffic strategies on his blog WordPress Howto Spotter. Connect on Twitter or Facebook
27 Responses to “WordPress Howto Spotter Gets Facelift, Do You Like It?”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
RT @TheSpotter WordPress Howto Spotter Gets Facelift, Do You Like It? http://tinyurl.com/lg4vp5
Twitter: volaer
says:
This is an honest opinion Alex, I would say that in both themes, you did best. But i like the first theme than this with a very slight difference. I would even appreciate much if you can make this modified theme of yours available to your followers. But of course, something like can be further modified just like the first one.
This is more neat than the first one though. But guess what, even just at the first time that I saw the first look of your blog, I already fell in love with it and I even want to do exactly what you did.
On the hand, this new look is really neat and I certainly like it too.
.-= Vince´s last blog ..Snorkeling, A Good Exercise and A Good Hobby For Pastors =-.
Thanks Vince,
Yeah, new look is always takes time to get used to. It was time to change it up and integrate a few things. Old theme was heavily hacked with too many things hard coded so I can’t share it without spending too much time fixing it all as it is using my blog links. Sorry – I just don’t have time to spend on fixing it all. I’m willing to provide it to you as is if you want to dig into it and fix it for yourself – just use contact form and I’ll reply back with attachment.
I like the cleaner version. But frankly its looking a whole lot like another over popular theme right now. So its not much really, to write home about.
Thanks Deb,
Appreciate the honest feedback! Although I’m not sure what theme you refer to.
Hey Alex, love the new look. As with anything, will have to get used to it, but I do like the freshness and lightness. Very well done sir!
.-= Mike Riley´s last blog ..Loan Modification Company Vs DIY Modification =-.
I really like the new clean look. It is easy to use and not over complicated like some blogs. Nice pic at the top, but in my opinion might be to bland, depends on how much branding you are looking to do.
I think the site is great i have just bought the Expert WordPressand at the moment going through all the video`s
Keep up the good work.
Regards Dave
Alex, you went from a darker to a lighter colored theme and I just changed from a lighter to a darker. Guess we all crave a little change from time to time. I like your new theme — liked your old one too. Is this run on WordPress 2.8? If so are all the plugins working well after the upgrade?
.-= Joni Solis´s last blog ..Jewelry for horse lovers =-.
Joni,
Yes, I wanted to try a lighter look. I guess when you continue to look at the screen after a while you want some changes. I’ll see how this one works out and if anything – can always change up the color gamma.
Theme was custom coded for me by me so all plugins work with no issues as I have tested each and every plugin I use before this theme went live.
Hi Alex. Great Work !
IMO the new look is great !
Bye,
Massimo
.-= Massimo ( aka maxp76 ) ´s last blog ..Nuovi orizzonti per Crea il tuo Blog ! =-.
Hi, Alex!!
Amazing look!!
Despite the matter I’ve got used to the old theme, this one is lighter and inviting to navigate in it.
I will be looking at your source and see what I can do with my own blog.
Congratulations.
Queen007
.-= Felicita Vazquez´s last blog ..How To Make Money Online With Clickbank â�� ClickBank Affiliate Blueprints Review =-.
You really did a fine job with these improvements. I like how your picture right away provides a trust element. Then my eye followed your arm down to the main menu. That is a handy and great thing to see. A strong tagline, nice placement of ads, and the social proof are excellent as well. My absolute favorite is the strong call to action in the non-traditional top right location with a nice onMouseOver event. Very very cool.
.-= jlbraaten´s last blog ..Choosing Content for a Usable Website =-.
Thanks, glad you seen through the idea of guiding visitor to where I need them to go
BTW, loved your last post!
Hi Alex,
It is nice an clean but so was the other one IMO. The important thing with a design if you ask me, is that it does what it is supposed to do. Since I assume you’ll be testing what happens on your site you’ll easily find out whether the new design works or not.
But congrats on the changes
Mikael
.-= Mikael @ Retire Early´s last blog ..What You Don’t Know About Money Will Hurt You =-.
Congrats Alex!
Great look. Almost everyday I read your blog as I learned so many thing from you. In INDIA we say our teacher as “GURU”. Actually it’s a Hindi(National Language) word. I can say you are my GURU. As usual few days back I opened your blog for new information and I saw the great new look. I think it’s a good idea to change the look to attract visitor.
.-= Chandan´s last blog ..How To Make Your Blog Search Engine Optimized? =-.
Thanks Chandan,
Glad my articles help you with your own effort, thanks for the praise, although I never consider myself that – I appreciate the vote of confidence!
Hey Alex everyone has given their feedback for the new theme but i would say i liked it as casually but the most good thing which appealed me most was the ads corner side of the screens!it seems like we are peeling the covers of the site!Yeah i like it & i clicked on that for several times because i was enjoying that peel off!
I have been meaning to comment here for a while. This is a nice clean look, and I agree that the picture of you directing viewers to the menu is a great idea. Can you believe that I finally got a blog using the EWP template up and running? Now you change!
I have had the domain name rockysgifts.com for years, and decided to use it on a blog.
Yes another bite in my 24 hours. However, it is something I have wanted to do, and decided to do it now.
Back to your template…Is your EWP theme still valid as far as SEO maximized? I can not believe that I stuck with my “old” templates for so long having access to EWP. I still use the original templates from the first series before EWP, and they have held up.
I know I have considered changing blog templates. I usually pick a standard since I am too cheap to buy a nice upgraded one, and am not a coder. Adjusting code usually gets me into trouble.
Once again, I really like the new look, and even if your blog was the Kubrick template I would still read it because it is the content that places your blog among my favorites.
.-= Rocque´s last blog ..The Beach Store =-.
I have a similar theme – expert wordpress which is also free and tested for SEO
however yours has a problem – viewing your site in maxthon web browser at 1024 pixels resolution the 3 bulleted lines of text are obscured by the image of you waving your arms about
Stephen,
My stats show that 99% of my users use following browsers: IE, Firefox, Chrome. I have optimized it for those and simply can’t check with every browser that exists and not planning to spend the time on it.
Alex you are always pushing the envelope, as any authority online should be doing. Beautiful theme to compliment the high quality content you provide.
One of the niches I am in I changed my theme to what I thought was awesome, yet adsense dropped and google analytics showed a major drop in traffic. I put up a survey rather quickly and ask readers if they still wanted the old theme or the new one. They pretty much just wanted the content and I eventually changed it back. Just sharing with others to always check your tracking daily.
Look forward to meeting you in person one day!
.-= Bob Ratcliff´s last blog ..Submit To Article Directories – 3 Things You Must Do =-.
Bob, I’m sure we will meet
I do attend seminars from time to time but I think this year I’m done!